


of the flood

by absenthium



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Character Study, Hurt/Comfort, Jon is there but not really, Martin is a good person, Post-Season/Series 01, Relationship Study, Sasha is not even a person, Tim is definitely not alright, mostly hurt let's be honest, no beta we die like fools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28489296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absenthium/pseuds/absenthium
Summary: i. She says, that must've happened a million times, and her laugh feels quiet.ii. He brings a cup of tea like a vessel, an offering for peace, for a quiet word among the harsh silence.Tim thanks him, and Martin tells him about this song he discovered in the morning.iii. The door it nine steps far.
Relationships: Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist & Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood & Tim Stoker, Not-Them Sasha James & Tim Stoker, Sasha James & Tim Stoker
Kudos: 1





	of the flood

**Author's Note:**

> pusher - alt-j  
> the great escape - patrick watson  
> je te laisserai des mots - patrick watson

**i.**

It is a sudden thought, that which lurks at the back of his mind.

He wouldn't call it a memory- not one, at least, he would remember. Feels more like a glimpse, the quick, flashing shade of a scene he must've seen somewhere.

A glint of gold-rimmed glasses, slender fingers of yellow wool, the loudest of smiles under eyes the colour of autumn.

What he does remember is the smell of rain and the crowded street. A hand holding his, too, though faint and already fading.

Later, he finds Sasha and asks her of that time they forgot to bring an umbrella and had to run all the way from the Institute to her house under the pouring rain.

She says, _that must've happened a million times_ , and her laugh feels quiet.

Tim wants to remember, but he doesn't.

**ii.**

Martin finds him with his face illuminated by the monitor and his eyes almost blinded by the darkness that surrounds his desk.

He brings a cup of tea like a vessel, an offering for peace, for a quiet word among the harsh silence.

Tim thanks him, and Martin tells him about this song he discovered in the morning.

The tea is too hot to be drank, but he does it anyway, and when Martin sits next to him Tim doesn't know what he's talking about, but his voice feels nice, soft, like gentle fingertips stroking his cheek, so he lets his head drown in the sound.

He asks Martin how it's going with his apartment, and Martin tells him it's hard, but he's managing. Still feels the hitching, sometimes. Triple-checking each room before falling asleep.

Tim finds himself smiling. Christ, he can relate. But he doesn't say it out loud.

Martin tells him about that song, and that place he's been meaning to visit for weeks, and the last poem he wrote, and when Tim takes a sip of his tea it is already getting colder.

**iii.**

The door it nine steps far.

Tim finds himself counting, and while he thinks it should surprise him he knows it won't.

He stares at it. The handle emerges from the dark wood like a gunshot.

He stares at it, and it remains closed.

Sometimes, when no one is around, he walks those nine steps, and each one is a different kind of agony. He walks those nine steps, and when he reaches the door he is distant enough to pretend not to be touching it, if anyone were to see him.

Close enough to hurt.

He closes his eyes, and listens to the faint words from the other side, a speech he can't quite make sense of, but.

A proof.

A whisper, a vision,  _something_ to tell him that room is not empty.

His fingers gently tap the wood. Inaudible. They ache to reach the doorknob, to open the door and just say something.

But he won't.

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently all I can do is be sad about Tim Stoker and write about him late at night. It's not much, but someone's gotta do it.  
> I had to repost because I'm terrible at using ao3 and mistakenly deleted it. So here I am.  
> Hope y'all enjoyed it.  
> E.


End file.
